21-year-old Cazenovia man paralyzed after skiing accident

Twenty-one-year-old Barclay Talbot of Cazenovia remains in stable condition in the intensive care unit in Upstate Hospital nearly two weeks after suffering a skiing accident at Cazenovia Ski Club that broke his neck, severed his spine and left him paralyzed from the waist down.

Talbot’s family and friends have rallied to his side and offered prayers, food and support in his time of need, and recently they have started a crowdfunding website to help offset the costs of his medical care and rehabilitation, which will be considerable.

According to information from the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation, average yearly expenses for people with paraplegia are $500,000 for the first year and $66,000 each subsequent year. The estimated lifetime cost of a paraplegic starting at age 25 is $2.2 million.

Talbot is 21 years old.

“He’s in the ICU at Upstate right now; he is stable,” said Lauren Dowd-Shedlock, Barclay’s cousin, who has been helping her family. “His family of course has all rushed to be at his bedside. … You just take life for granted until something like this comes along. Barclay is just 21 years old with a whole life ahead of him.”

Barclay Talbot is the son of Sheila and Tom Talbot, of Cazenovia, and the youngest of four boys. He is a recent graduate of Cazenovia High School and is currently attending a local community college.

Talbot, who is a competitive skier, suffered his accident on Wednesday, Feb. 11, at Cazenovia Ski Club, after “something went wrong” after hitting a ski jump, said Dowd-Shedlock. CAVAC responded to the scene and took him to Upstate Medical Center, where it was determined he had broken his neck and his lower back.

Upstate surgeons have already performed two surgeries on Talbot, but have told him it is unlikely he will ever walk again, Dowd-Shedlock said.

“He is stabilized; thankfully it did not hit any major organs; he’s not quadriplegic. He still has motor skills, can still use upper body and there was no brain damage. He has been awake the entire time and in good spirits,” she said. “Now we’re looking at how much worse it could have been. It puts life in so much larger perspective.”

The Talbot family currently is researching rehabilitation facilities nationwide for patients with spinal cord injuries so Barclay can be with other patients going though the same thing, Dowd-Shedlock. Upstate currently has no other spinal injury patients, she said.

The family has found Craig Hospital in Denver, which is one of the top rated SCI rehab facilities in the country. They have 87 beds, of which 55 currently are spinal cord injury patients; seven of the patients are between the ages of 16 and 27, including five who were injured while skiing, she said.

“With or without insurance, you can imagine the financial obligation associated with such an injury. Air ambulance to Denver is $20,000. Inpatient rehab is $3,000 to $5,000 per day,” Dowd-Shedlock said.

A fundraiser has been established to begin to help Barclay and his family offset the costs of his recovery.

A crowdfunding site has been created at youcaring.com/Barclay; and a fundraising account has been setup at Key Bank; all donations can be mailed directly to the bank. Checks can be made payable to: ‘Barclay Talbot – Spine’ and mail to: Mr. Jacob Kish, Key Bank, 410 Towne Drive Fayetteville, NY 13066.

“He needs the prayers for miracles, but also the funding,” Dowd-Shedlock said. “We’re reaching out to the community with the crowdfunding website. Just think, if 20,000 people all just donated $1, how much that would help.”